In Whose Hands? Moral & Political Questions about Drone Strikes
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-11-01/whose-hands-moral-political-questions-about-drone-strikes
U.S. drone strikes have reportedly killed more than 2,000 militants in Pakistan, but how will we react when other countries or groups acquire drones and use them to attack enemies? Join Kojo to explore the moral and political implications of using unmanned aircraft for targeted killings.
Guests
Spencer Ackerman
Senior reporter for Wired.com’s “DangerRoom” blog
Brian Fishman
Counterterrorism Research Fellow, New America Foundation
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Beyond the technology of this one platform, its proliferation, and the serious questions its use raises, is the matter of who is in charge of making extra-judicial decisions regarding the use of U.S. deadly force around the world.
There used to be a high level of distrust between the U.S. military and the Intelligence agencies. There also used to be distrust between the regular military and the special operations community within the military. Now, after a decade of increasing collaboration between all of these cultures, there has been a rise of the Joint Special Operations Command presence and activities all around the world. There has been decreasing transparency and oversight, all in the name of the permanent, open-ended state of “asymmetrical” war against anyone JSOC deems a terrorist. The increasing ease of the U.S. and other country’s use of drones does not bode well for the future of diplomacy in this environment.